>> i like it. can we send you? we're out of time. it's a pleasure. hold your thoughts. but delight in your presence. the young turk. that does it for us. "hardball's" up right now. tea party on the delaware. let's play "hardball." good evening,. the little state that could. will delaware be the one to make or break the conservatives chances of taking over the u.s. senate this year? tonight, we get the results of the big tea party challenge of christine o'donnell to possibly win the republican nomination for senate over mike castle. if she does, it will be the

eighth time in this political season that a far right of center beat out the favorite for a gop nomination. we'll look at all the big races in seven states tonight and the district of columbia and what's at stake. also, there's a great political battle brewing over taxes. my question. who wins if congress fails to stop this tax hike if nothing gets done, who wins then? who wins if the tax cuts are extended for all of us. and harry reid exchanges tweets with lady gaga. he says he'll try to get a vote this week on ending don't ask, don't tell. could this be about the election? why not just get rid of it period. we'll be back at midnight tonight with a special primary night edition of "hardball" to

give you the full returns from delaware, new hampshire, d.c., everywhere else in the country. but the biggest from delaware, which will decide, many think, whether the republicans have a really good chance or very slight chance of winning the senate this year. we start with chuck todd. he's chief white house correspondent and chief political director for nbc. chuck, you're my guy. tell me. who's going to win tonight in e delaware? just kidding. nobody knows. christine o'donnell was way back in the pack. way beyond previous cases like rand paul. she gets the big kiss of whatever from sarah palin. now, she's gunning for knocking off a guy the biden family was afraid to take on in delaware. mike castle. >> if you want to find the trend here when it comes to the tea party endorsed candidated upending the establishment, delaware is certainly right for

it. it's a small state. it's a closed primary. it means independents can't show up and pick a republican ballot. only registered republicans. there's number two. a long time incumbent even though he's running for the u.s. senate for the first time, mike castle has held office in delaware pretty much every year continuously since 1966. so the ingredients are all there for this, for history to repeat itself. in an odd way, that was a convention process, but so few republicans are going in delaware, it's like a large convention process. and even of what happened in kentucky with rand paul. all the ingredients are there except this difference. number one is that mike castle went after o'donnell.

hit her hard. granted only in the last three weeks, and two, a lot of mainstream conservatives that have been supportive of the tea party movement outside of palin and demint, have discredited o'donnell. >> i'm looking at her face. looks to be the new look at the conservative right. looks to be female, very camera ready. very good on television, the radio. very articulate in the sense of making a big, hard-lined push seem nice and important. all the talents that matter to american politics and the old establishment candidates seem a little tired. mike castle looks tired. just the fact of getting on there with a big smile. >> i think when you're trying to tell delaware republicans change, or the guy you've been voting for since in his case,

1980, or the new gal? sure, i think just on simply she looks more like change, but you know, there's another tension going on here, chris, and that is this tension you're seeing playing out inside the senate republican caucus, which is how important is control getting those 51 republican senators that puts mitch mcconnell in control, versus purity. jim demint has said he wants 30 marco rubios rather than having majority made up of a charlie crist or arlen specter. if you' >> if you're a liberal, watch this. the democratic party is what it's been. center left. barack obama may be a tad to the left, but not more than a tad. the republican party though is in play. it's in flux. it's the way it was in the '60s.

this is where the ideology is being yanked. >> i have no brief for christine o'donnell, but i'm going to tell you, a senate full of mike castles is not going to get us anywhere. it's going to get a bunch of republicans their chairmanships on the committee, but it's not going to do anything to reverse obamaism. >> there you have it. the walrus under water has spoken. jonathan, you're from politico, right? >> yes. >> is this the mood of the country? are conservatives willing to maybe risk a seat so get the right person? >> you assume that the person in delaware is thinking, if i vote for her over castle, the is that

going to impale our possibleties to get to the senate. >> more foun vote for o'donnell or castle. >> if you're a conservative in delaware, probably her. >> if you go into that voting booth, what's more fun to go into the voting booth and really kick butt and give it some juice and now that you made a difference or say, yeah, we'll keep it going the way it's been going for 30 years. chuck, do you think voters like to go in there and put some juice in that voting machine. >> they just don't vote on electability. a primary voter is motivated by their principles. >> has the republican party, not the old breed party, the new breed of hot ticket, hot tea party types, they're voting to

me the way the old liberals used to vote. they used to have a phrase called ndc. it also meant november doesn't count. are republicans voting like democrats used to vote? you know she's right. >> exactly. you're seeing some of that because your conservatives in a place like delaware, or nationally, they want somebody who's going to tow the party line. delaware is a very unique place. castle is a solid brand there. >> here he is with a robocall using her former campaign manager. right. >> in a primary. a closed primary. >> it's like crocker jarmon. here he is showing an ad from the voice of christine o'donnell's former campaign manager.

it's on the telephone today. hi, this is kristen murray. in 2008, i was the campaign manager for christine o'donnell. i got into politics because i believe in conservative values and wanted to make a difference, but i was shocked to learn christine o'donnell is no conservative. you see, this is her third senate race in five years. i found out she was living on campaign donations, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debt. >> take that, chuck todd. tell me how that works. >> he basically kept running for office and pulled, and actually pulled a salary the last time. it is legal to actually pay yourself a salary of the job you're running for if you're running for the u.s. house or the u.s. senate in those new campaign finance rules, but

look, the fact that there's another big picture thing going on here and we may see the democrats go through this if republicans win control of both the house and senate this year, which is when a party loses, they have a fight and the base wins in the short-term. the question is, does it work in the long-term. >> the old breed and hot tickets and i look at what's happening. what a role they're on. nevada, they put in sharon engine engel. in alaska, they brought in miller. in utah, they've got lee. you've got rubio. in pennsylvania, you've got toomey. in every case, they're bumped. this is a party in rapid transition. this is a party that's not the old party of nixon. it's a new kind of party.

>> what you just rattled off is why -- it explains why castle's airing that call. because he saw what happened with murkowski, bob bennett, all these folks who said, it's not going to happen to me. >> he said he doesn't like to get dirty or rough. here he is -- if castle wins. ayotte wins tonight in new hampshi hampshire, if they both lose, he says it's a lot rougher to win. i think they can still win and net ten if they pull off upsets in california and wisconsin, places like that. >> my last four senate seats, there are 13 democratic senate seats in play. the last four to flip in my mind are connecticut, west virginia, california and nevada. and if you pull delaware out of

the equation, that means republicans have to win two of those four that identify. west virginia, connecticut, nevada and california. they are frankly all a tad uphill in one form or another. i agree. they can get there. it's just a little bit harder if you pull delaware out of the equation. >> i'll tell you a fact we're not including. so many progressives i know are despondant. they don't think barack obama is perfect. that's my view. they're view is he's not reaching their goals. that will be a question how that turnout occurs. if only the red hot right votes, look out, everybody. that includes boxer, patty murray, the governor of west virginia. they could all go if only people voting are the red hot right and everybody else states home or goes to the movies or sits home with the rain. coming up, no country for

old republicans. the far right is on the rise and when a candidate like mike castle is no longer safe in a state like delaware, you want to know just what's going on with the republican party these days. something big time is going democratic party is uneasy, republican party is in open rebellion. [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] the u.s. government may soon require brake override technology on all new cars and trucks. at nissan, we think this is a good idea. so we did it... ...six years ago. [ wind howling ] nissan. innovation for safety. innovation for all.

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that's it. this could be a real big surprise. let's get this. 4 in 10 people say they support mcmahon because of talking about the war record inaccurately. if i remember him, i'd straighten things out as quickly as possible. say you didn't serve in vietnam and you were wrong to suggest you did. it was a dishonor to the people serving. "hardball" returns after this. g and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. ♪

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if mike castle loses tonight in delaware, he'll become the eighth republican casualty of the party's right wing. why are we seeing a trend of conservative voters rejecting people for the senate and taking people from nowhere and one of the consequences for the republican party to build their houses from nowhere. the boy can write.

national journalist, columnist, you were writing all those speeches. and sam -- i can't resist the chance to start with a real republican. matt, this used to be what the democrats did. tear themselves apart. the old phrase was ndc. november doesn't count. just have a great time in the primaries. doesn't matter as long as it's fun. your party seems to be doing that. >> i don't know if many republicans would consider me a real republican, but i think what this is a reflection of is the frustration and anger that exists in america. and broadly, it's frustration, but in the republican primary, it's anger. and anybody who's suffering in that is anybody who represents the establishment of washington. it's not necessarily an incumbent thing. it's the establishment or

washington. it's intense, hot and passionate and it doesn't matter what's going to happen in november. >> what is the smell of washington that they don't like? give me it in the cruddiest terms. if you're a tea partier and you think of washington, what is it that you smell and don't like? what is it that washington is bad? >> and i don't think it has -- it's not fully what barack obama and his policies, i think it began in the last few years of bush, all the things that was spending. they think washington is disconnected from people's lives. they think washington spends money without regard for going on. they think republicans and democrats, regardless if they get along publicly, cut deals. they're only interested in rising on the ladder, in what they can get out of washington. in power for power's sake. they're not interested in designing and having a government that reflects where they are in their life. i think that's what it is and it doesn't matter if you're a democrat or republican. if they feel you represent that,

then they don't like you. >> this is ancient feeling. robert reich, the rod at the top, the big shots in washington are selling you out, wasting your money that you paid from tax money and the mob at the gate. whatever that means to you. illegal immigration, whatever it means. minorities. welfare cheats. the mob at the gate and rod at the top and you're stuck in the middle. that's where a lot of voters feel right now. obviously. >> look at these republican primaries. if you look at the candidates that were defeated, these were defeated. they did things wrong. >> here are the republicans -- the guy that couldn't lose in kentucky. lost to rand paul. florida's charlie crist.

a popular governor driven out by rubio. utah's senator. murkowski out of nowhere defeated by joe miller. pennsylvania's arlen specter, blown away by toomey. forced to quit the party and become a democrat. sue loudon, blown away by sharon engel. jane norton -- i'm looking at these people, you were doing a morning line on this, you'd say everyone was going to win. >> each of them in one way or another, a lot of times, they were the pick of the establishment. in other cases like with bennett, there was a specific vote. and with murkowski, there was hint she may support -- >> this morning on "morning joe"

asked mitch mcconnell if republicans are rejecting his picks for office. let's listen. >> seven of the establishment republican picks, candidates you got behind in primaries, have gone down to defeat including in kentucky. so, do you feel like the republican party is rebuking your and the establishment picks? >> look, in the primaries, the voters in the primaries get to decide who the nominees are. there was one state, utah, where the primary voters didn't get a chance to decide. it was done by convention. those things sort themselves out and we'll get behind the nominees of the party. the real elections are in november and as i said, i'm optimistic i'm going to be the leerd of a larger group than i am now. >> what a survivor if there ever was one.

mitch mcconnell has had his head buried in a hole for the past year and a half. he's coming out -- he'll probably get a wreath for that, but he didn't want these candidates, did he? >> no, he we wanted candidates that were going to be get along get along. i think the guy on election day, regardless of the way it turns out, who should have a real fear about some of these guys coming to the senate. these guys are not going there in order to get along and go along. you think they have democrats with the democrats, they're going to show real disagreements with the future senate majority leader if he wins. >> voters are great and

democracy has been similpectacu are they electing people who bark at the moon and make weird noses at their other members? don't get a house in washington. maybe stay in a hotel, but really keep away from the people because they're evil and dirty? do they want them to join the senate? >> they like term limits. rand paul today said something important. he said he was going to help filibuster any budget that wasn't balanced. we have joe miller -- >> balanced? >> yeah. >> 1.6 trillion out of the debt. >> i don't know how they're going to do it. they have joe miller who says he wants to get rid of social security. a bunch of people who want to get rid of the department of education. they want to change government as you know it and it's going to create real problems. we talked about a fight scene off star wars. that's what that's going to be. >> i want to say one thing. there's a huge distrust of the

federal government. it's broadly in the country. anybody that presents a federal government slough to a problem is automatically suspect. barack obama has created his own problems by presenting many federal government solutions to the problem. this is not going away. whether these tea party folks win or not, there's a majority who does not trust the federal government to deal with problems anymore. >> that's been the profession. the democratic party is the party of government. it's got to make the case for effective government that meets the needs of people at the reasonable price of taxes or it will be rejected. thank you so much. thank you, matt, sam. conservatives win when people lose faith in government. up next, we know republicans love to demonize nancy pelosi, but a new ad from her opponent in san francisco may be going a

bit far. he's got her as a wicked witch from the wizard of osborne. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. nt may soon require brake override technology on all new cars and trucks. at nissan, we think this is a good idea. so we did it... ...six years ago. [ wind howling ] nissan. innovation for safety. innovation for all.

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first making a splash, nancy pelosi's republican challenge is all be sure losing this november. check out his new web ad. >> hello, my pretty. i will save you from those evil republicans. and here are my monkeys to make you pay for it all. i'm melting. >> thank you for saving us. who are you? >> i'm john dennis. i'm running for congress.

>> we're home, toto, we're home. >> he says to look out for more parodies from him like that. by the way, pelosi's last republican opponent won a grand total of 10% of the vote. next, back to school politics. remember when jim greer laughed at president obama for giving a speech to texas school kids? he accused the president of quote using taxpayer dollars -- one year later, it appears he's had an e pifny. here's what he put out today --

well, greer's break with republicans may have been helped by the fact he's facing charges of fraud and money laundering in florida. finally, you think rahm emanuel's a shoe in for the mayor of chicago? think again. former illinois senator carol brawn is set next week to announce she's running. this can't be missed. it's going to be one heck of a fight in chicago. up next, who wins the big political battle over taxes? i think taxes is going to be knocking on the door of voters. democrats say republicans are holding the people hostage. probably both right. the debate straight ahead. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. my name is vonetta, and i suffer from allergies.

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i'm brian shactman with your market wrap. stocks finishing little change. the dow jones industrial average slipping 17 points, the s&p 500 down just a fraction. the nasdaq with a four-point game. shares in major retailers spiking today. august sales rose more than expegted and the biggest increase in five months. best buy was a standout today surging 6% on better than expected profits and improved outlook. cisco also finishing higher after announcing it will begin paying a dividend of between 1 and 2% starting in 2011. industrials were under pressure today on demand for steel. boeing took a hit on a rule they will receive about $24 billion

from illegal tax breaks from the u.s. government. now back to "hardball." i'm not going to answer all these hypotheticals. i'm going to tell you what i think we ought to be fighting for in the senate. a current extension of current tax rates. >> that was mitch mcconnell on morning rundown. daily rundown. i love that show. i was on my track, what do you call that thing -- >> an ipod? >> treadmill. which side has more to gain and lose before the midterm. it affects everybody working. your taxes.

let's bring in jennifer pomery. let me ask you both, doesn't everybody want a tax cut? you don't want to answer the question. >> no, i do. >> the polling is interesting in that the majority of people don't support extending the bush tax cuts. they don't. when you say should we extend the bush tax cuts, 52% of americans say no. i think it's because they think those taxes go to rich people. but then when you say should you extend them for rich people or only the middle class. they pick only the middle class. i think what's great about what john boehner has done is he has clarified the difference. >> try something, if nothing happens, everybody's taxes go up in january, right? who wins then?

if we go to the voting booth and everybody's taxes are going up, who wins then? >> it's not going to happen in a vacuum. there will be a debate. if they can be the can't get a bill passed, democrats will say, this is what it's about. >> but won't people blame the democrats because they're in power? >> mr. boehner helped make this case. if you're able to say, i wanted to vote for tax cuts, they wanted to get $700 billion in more tax cuts to rich people and i wanted to stop that and we're going to come back and fix it next year. democratic polling is making her case. it does say people are willing to fight this fight, that the rich shouldn't get the tax cuts. i hear nancy pelosi believes it in her gut and she's going to fight like heck on this. >> it's a mistake. to answer your first question. i can't think of anybody in this

country who wouldn't want a tax cut. but the class warfare distinction, if the democrats do nothing between now and the election, democrats can go back and say, see, we told you. >> i would say most americans, like 95%, don't know anybody who makes over a quarter million a year. >> i believe that. >> they are counties in pennsylvania that don't. 100,000. >> this is politics rather than sound economic policy. the problem is we had an administration that has spent almost a trillion dollars saying we're going to get out of the ditch by using kenzian economics. >> let's talk taxes here. if the bill gets passed and the tax cut goes through and the middle class, the 250,000 and below get the tax cuts who wins? dems or republicans?

if they get the tax cut through. >> 250,000 and below, i think the democrats win because they are fighting for working families. >> suppose it goes out somewhere in the middle and ends up the only bill they can get passed is a one or two-year extension. who wins then? >> i think the democrats win that. they can say see, president obama's trying to meet the republicans halfway. >> so anything passes, the democrat wins. nothing passes, the republicans win. >> i think that's it. >> do you agree? >> i do. >> so now, we know the game. the republicans will do everything they can to delay this. >> a two-year or permanent exteng. zpl but they're willing to take the loss because if nothing gets passed, they win. you think they win? >> because we're going to have a fight about it. >> let's listen to president obama on this issue because i think it's tricky, but most people follow common sense.

if democrats are in power and they don't get their tax cut, they blame democrats. let's listen to the president. >> we could get that done this week. but we're still in this wrestling match with john boehner and mcmcconnell about the last 2 to 3% where we'd be giving $100,000. >> can the president of the united states turn these guys into target practice? >> you've got to define -- >> john boehner's a friend of mine. i love the guy. i'm positive most people don't know who he is. >> we know he smokes. >> who cares. look, the important thing here is that this doesn't look presidential. you have the president of the united states saying john boehner and mcconnell.

>> isn't that the problem for the president of the united states, don't blame me, i'm running the country. i've got a democratic party running the congress. blame this guy from ohio that smokes and plays golf. >> it happens to be true, that they are the ones standing in the way. his problem with the midterms for the democrats have been that it's just a referendum on the economy and what the white house is trying to do and i think it's smart to do, to make it a choice. that is what voters make it. they are making a choice between oba obama's direction and john boehner's republican direction. >> the tea party throughout there, it's been almost an insurrection for a year and very effective. they've won seven big races, knocking out establishment figures. specter, crist, murkowski. incumbents and challengers. knocked them all out. their focus is against

government, against taxes. are they going drive the republican thinking on this, it's the number one issue, we've got to get tax cuts? >> absolutely. republicans got fired because we spent too much, forgot what we came from. became like democrats. we're going to tell you what money you can keep and what not. >> thank you. the hot hand. up next, what's harry reid doing with the military and his don't ask don't tell policy and what happens inside the military if ty get rid of don't ask don't tell. we're going to talk about those questions. the politics and reality of getting rid of don't ask don't tell and having open service for people, which looks to be the future. the question is when is it coming and how are people going to handle it. [ male announcer ] it's luxury with fire in its veins. bold. daring. capable of moving your soul.

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tweet and photo. it reads gay veterans were my vma dates. call harry reid to schedule vote. well, he scheduled vote and retweeted this today in reply -- kathryn miller decided to leave because she no longer wanted to serve under don't ask, don't tell. she was one of lady gaga's dates, if you will. alexander served 18 years. he's an adviser on ot vote. let me ask you both, let's assume that this is going to come to a vote. it may not get the 60 this time. it may get the courts may rule on this. it may take a year. a little longer than that. what do you think will be the difference when we have open service? how would it be different, do

you believe? >> actually, i think we're overestimating the differences. i think it's going to be a smooth transition. the military's more than prepared to make this transition and i've been exceedingly proud of them. really, i think we're overestimating the differences it's going to take. >> well, let me ask -- who's our other guest? matthew alexander. what do you think will be the difference? >> i think moral will improve because we have members serving in the military today who aren't allowed to disclose their sexuality. i have a good friend in afghanistan who got out of the military because of this policy. it's not because he was forced out, but because he felt it

created an atmosphere that wasn't conducive for him to serve. >> you're all for it, but back to kathryn.katherine. why are people against open service? why are people in the military resisting? is it going to be so hard for harry reid to get it? who is fighting it? >> you know it is a really small minority. i feel like this minority though of in my case cadets, but soldiers at large and some of our general officers, they are very vocal about their homophobia and they are scared of making this transition. >> why are they scared? try to figure it out? >> i think that is a difficult question. mainly because there's a big generational gap between, you know, the general officer corps and our young rising leaders, our second lieutenants, because homosexual is something -- it is a fairly new concept to these people. so, i think the generational gap is causing a lot of fear and discomfort at the higher levels. >> matthew, why are people against it?

why are we arguing this thing? young people, i know all the numbers, in fact, the country is pretty much overwhelmingly for open service now i predict they are not going to get 60 votes. i tell you why i'm bringing this up this there is a cultural resistance, jim webb, people in the democratic party, john mccain in the republican party, a lot of military background, they don't want this. >> well it is a political issue y it is not reflected by the the people in the military, especially the younger generations of people in the military and definitely not reflected by the public who acknowledges that we already have homosexuals serving in the military, performing admirably. they are already serving side by side. they are already sleeping in the same tents. ed logistics of it that people use as an excuse are not even valid because homosexuals are already serving in the military and we are already performing our missions without them being able to serve openly, but allowing them to serve openly will give everybody equal chance to serve this country based on their competency, not based on their sexuality. >> let me ask but a couple things that might trouble some people.

you can call it homophobia but part of the debate there some argue we separate the sexes in the baracks for good reason, go out on leave, whatever they mix among the jepders and they have whatever sex they enjoy or whatever, they certainly have romance and attraction, but the way they separate people attracted to each other is they put them in different barracks do you have to make any kind of adjustments once you have open service for gay focus, gay people as well? your thoughts, katherine? just leave the military conduct requirements exactly the way they are? >> i mean, absolutely. i think we have uniform code of military justice and we have regulations already in police to regulate conduct and if there's a problem, we are going to address it it's -- under no circumstances is it okay for, you know, a senior to be in a relationship with a subordinate or two roommates. >> so, fraternization rules would just have to be strictly enforced? for example, off drill instruct they're may obviously have an attraction to somebody in the ranks and everybody knows about it that would cause a lot of problems, obviously.

but you say you could deal with that in terms of just discipline there is to be no camaraderie, fraternization, period, between the ranks? >> adhere to existing military policy that we have, you know, already regulating these behaviors, if it is unacceptable behavior for homosexualeterosex sun acceptable for homosexuals. >> i hear these arguments, i was in the peace corps we didn't have these issues, obviously, but the fact is there are people who argue you can't have the same barracks, people who are attracted to each other. do you see any requirements for changing the rules to make that obviously a more disciplined situation than it has to be right now? >> no, i don't, chris. i have been a criminal investigator for the military for almost eight years and we quit investigating homosexual conduct years ago because we realized it doesn't affect unit morale. you know it is based to on -- we have a uniform code of military justice and our investigations and our corrective action should be based on conduct, misconduct,

and not on someone's sexuality. >> we are going to have this argument for a while because it looks like it is not going to pass right now the courts are get nothing this. i think it is getting close to an unstoppable force to bring an end to open service. katherine, great to have you on the show, an honor to have you on the you have been through a lot and great spokesman for this issue. matthew alexander as well, thank you both for coming on. when we return, i'm going to have some thoughts on why it's time to end don't ask, don't tell. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] the u.s. government may soon require brake override technology on all new cars and trucks. at nissan, we think this is a good idea. so we did it... ...six years ago. [ wind howling ] nissan. innovation for safety. innovation for all.

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let me finish tonight with a question of open service in the u.s. military. i think don't ask, don't tell was probably destined to be an intermediate solution in the debate between those who support it and those who opposed open service. the premise was that a gay person would agree to a strange compact on joining the military services. a gay person would be allowed to serve as other americans do, but only if he or she didn't say they were gay. if they didn't declare their sexual orientation in some other direct way. the problem, as has been explained on this show, is that this don't ask, don't tell rule didn't apply to straight soldiers they could come back from a weekend pass full of row romantic exploits, sharing them for all to hear. the gay soldier or sailor would have to keep quiet on what he or she did over the weekend. to do otherwise would be to violate the compact, don't tell has meant just that, don't tell.

my hunch, having never served in the military myself is that soldiers learn not to ask gay soldiers questions about their lives for the simple reason that it would require them to tell, which is growns for discharge. so the u.s. senate's on the verge of dumping don't ask, don't tell. open service is very much in prospect, primarily because the american public has changed its mind on this matter. never has it changed its mind so quickly so dramatically. the social accept ability of anti-gay bias is rapidly diminishing, just as it did in the worlds after world war ii for catholics and jewish people and sadly, only gradually, for african-americans. military service was one reason prejudice began to die. it's hard to deny a person full acceptance when you know firsthand how they have given for our country. here today, we have a case of a group of americans ready to fight for their country, openly and with full pride in who they are. as i said, the american people have changed -- have never changed their minds so quickly. perhaps the reasons not so different from the reasons why war time in the 1940s